Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg (1937-1995)
Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg (1937-1995) aka Wimpy. He fell out a window and landed on a spike from a wrought iron fence. Around 1941 neighborhood kids set him on fire and he was disfigured and in a wheel chair the rest if his life. When he was dying he was declared an incompetent and no one in the family would take responsibility, so he buried in an unmarked paupers grave. (b. June 14, 1937, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07307, USA - d. November 22, 1995, 5:20 am, Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07307, USA) Social Security Number 153548384. Parents *Eugene Freudenberg I (1900-1956) *Florence Catherine Skinner (1901-1986) Siblings *Louis Julius Freudenberg II (1922-1986) who married and fathered a child, Margie, with Margaret Piatt of Westbrookville, New York *Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ) who married Jane Gilliland (1935- ) and after a divorce married Helena R. Bonowicz (1919-1988) and then moved to Florida Fall from window When Ralph was about a year old, he fell out a window and landed on a wrought iron fence and was hospitalized for a puncture wound to his lung. He was waiting to see his father coming home from work and he leaned against the screen and fell on the fence. Fire Around June of 1941, he was burned in a fire in Jersey City. There are three versions of this story: *Richard Charles Freudenberg II (1932- ) says that there was a bonfire and he was dressed in an Indian costume and was pushed into the fire. *Winifred McManus (1928- ) says he was tied to a tree and set on fire. *Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ), his brother, says that Ralph was locked in a shed and the shed was set on fire. Arthur says the vandals were John Smith and Frank Smith and they lived at 233 Central Avenue in Jersey City. *Robert Charles Freudenburg (1954- ) says he was told he was given an Indian costume and the costume accidentally caught fire. Hospitalization Ralph was hospitalized from the burns for almost three years and the event was reported in the Jersey Journal, but the article has not been located yet. A. Harry Moore School Arthur also says: "He was at the A. Harry Moore School in Jersey City for disabled children. The school couldn't even take care of him and he was sent home, my mom would care for him. Ralph was later in the the Pollak Nursing Home on Clifton Place in Jersey City, New Jersey." Wimpy Marilyn Heyny (1936- ) says that: "He was called Wimpy, after the character in the Popeye cartoons. He had gangrene on his leg when we visited him in Jersey City in the late 1950s. The smell of the gangrene was awful. The leg was probably damaged from the fire. He never married or had children." Declared incompetent In 1993 Ralph Freudenberg needed surgery and they looked for his next-of-kin to give consent. They tried to find his brother Arthur in Keansburg, New Jersey but Arthur had already moved to Florida. They contacted other Freudenbergs in New Jersey including the family of Richard Freudenberg. Ralph had a cytoscopy performed on November 26, 1993. The court declared Ralph an incompetent on November 29, 1993 and had it made retroactive to November 24, 1993, 12:25 pm. On February 25, 1994 an arterial venous shunt was inserted and Ralph was on dialysis with renal failure. Death Ralph died on November 22, 1995 at Pollack Hospital at 100 Clifton Place in Jersey City. Burial He was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in Grave 102, Row K, Section H, Block 3, Holy Cross Cemetery, 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington, New Jersey. The funeral was arranged by Alvarez-Marshello Funeral Home. Name Ralph Freudenberg was named for Ralph Kohlman (1885-1957) who married his aunt, Ada Augusta Freudenberg (1884-1957). Ralph left him $3,000 in his will when he died in 1957. Research *When the Jersey Journal is scanned and converted into text in the future, someone must look for the articles on the fire. Memories about Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg *Robert Charles Freudenburg (1954- ) said on April 28, 2007: "He was called Wimpy, everyone in that family was poor, and had mental problems. When Louie died, Wimpy didn't know what to do and lived with the dead body for several days. I went over the house once and looked in the fridge and there were mice living in it. They had a piece of chicken uncooked in a fridge that hadn't worked in years. I had the only picture of Louis and Ralph and my sister lost it." *Winifred McManus (1928- ), June 21, 2003: "Florence Skinner went through hell in her life, one boy fell out a window and landed on a metal picket fence that pierced his body. He was later burned by kids that tied him to a tree. There was Wimpy, and Louis. Louis was a little nuts. Louis was in the Army for a day, or a week and he had flat feet and was discharged, he was slightly crazy. He was a recluse and never left the house, he grew his hair long. Arthur lived down in Keansburg, New Jersey. My mother was the sister of Florence Skinner, and the Skinners had a hard life. There were holes in the wall of their house. My parents were poor, also, but they improved their lives, the Freudenbergs stayed poor. My mother took care of them. There might have been a Hattie Skinner that died at birth. There were Skinners up at Port Jervis. My brother Jimmy is buried in Holy Name Cemetery. I a not interested in any of this family stuff, these people never were part of my life and I feel no connection to them. I have my parent's social security cards and I am about to throw them out, you may feel a need to keep things like that, but I am from a different generation. I am not interested in this stuff, I have my kids and my husband and thats all I need to know about. Goodbye." *Marilyn Heyny (1936- ), 1998: "He was called Wimpy. They wanted to perform surgery on him and called me from Jersey City Hospital in 1993. He fell on a picket fence from a window as a child and later he was burned in a fire. The picket fence pierced his lung. He had gangrene on his leg when we visited him in Jersey City in the late 1950s. The smell of the gangrene was awful. The leg was probably damaged from the fire. He never married or had children." *Arthur Oscar Freudenberg II (1929- ), Telephone, May 03, 2003: "Ralph my younger brother fell out a window when he was 9 months old, his nickname was Wimpy. He leaned against the screen and he fell out the window and landed on the fence below, this was in 1938. Ralph was also burned in a fire, He was in shed and one of his "friends" locked him in and set the shed on fire. I pulled Wimpy out by ripping off the lock and breaking down the door with a hammer and then the ambulance came. He was covered with third degree burns, and he was in the hospital for three years. This was in 1941. It was in the newspaper at the time. I had to call my dad in New York and tell him what happened, he came right to the hospital. Most of Ralph's body was burned and he was a cripple ever since. I didn't know that Ralph had died in 1995, I was already in Florida with an unlisted number. Ralph never worked. He was disabled from the fall and the fire. He would crap in his pants. He was at the A. Harry Moore School in Jersey City for disabled children. The school couldn't even take care of him and he was sent home, my mom would care for him. Ralph was later in the the Pollak Nursing Home on Clifton Place in Jersey City, New Jersey. The hospital was around the corner from Jersey City Medical Center. He would talk dirty and talk compulsively about sex all the time. He got a small railroad pension, but he was in the hospital most of his life." *Ralph Kolman, Last Will and Testament, 1957: "I give and bequeath to my nephew, Ralph Kohlman Freudenberg, the sum of Three Thousand ($3,000.00) Dollars." File:1940 census Freudenberg-Eugene.jpg|1940 census Ancestors Category:Non-SMW people articles